Too much news’ bombardment…..too much attention paid to people who really do not matter

Gossip on a global scale.

Global lack of privacy, everyone is talking , but saying nothing of substance…… and no one is listening or being able to, at the very least, decipher the noise from the words that matter from the people worthy of being listened to.

The people who created social media should be arrested for crimes against common sense.

We had the privilege to be out on a media boat to witness the action first hand .

These magnificent racing beasts did over 19 knots as a gentle SW breeze blew over Table Bay .A flotilla of media boats and small rubber ducks followed the action.

Dongfeng Race Team beat a resurgent MAPFRE and team AkzoNobel in Cape Town on Friday…

Vestas 11th Hour Racing and Dongfeng Race Team traded blows throughout the first half of the Cape Town In-Port Race course on Friday afternoon, before the Chinese-French team grabbed the lead midway through the race and stretched away for their first win in the series.

The victory vaults skipper Charles Caudrelier’s team to second place on the leaderboard for the In-Port Race Series, just behind MAPFRE who retained the overall lead with a fightback second place finish on Friday.

“The team did a fantastic job, very nice boat handling and good speed, so well done to the full team,” Caudrelier said after the race.

“Our start was not fantastic, but after that we made a good call to tack a bit earlier and put pressure on Vestas and then we found some good speed. That was a key factor.”

Conditions were spectacular on the waters off Cape Town, with wind near 20 knots, under bright, sunny skies. Boat handling was at a premium in the fresh conditions and on the first two laps of the course, there were several very close crosses as the boats approached the turning gates.

Near the end of the second run, Vestas 11th Hour Racing were sailing on an awkward wind angle to the mark and had difficulty furling their big A3 downwind sail in preparation for the rounding.

It didn’t hurt them immediately but when they next tried to deploy the sail at the final top mark, it wouldn’t fully unfurl, and the team was very slow for most of the final run.

“We started well,” said navigator Simon Fisher. “At the second top mark Dongfeng did a great job, pushing us to the less favoured side, which pushed us back into the fleet, which put pressure on the downwind drop, which meant we didn’t have a great furl, and that hurt us on the last run. It’s just a great example of how things can snowball.”

The mistake cost the team two places, as both MAPFRE and team AkzoNobel raced past on the run to the finish.

The second place finish represented a tremendous comeback for MAPFRE who were forced into a penalty turn just before the start, leaving them them the last to get across the line.

But the Spanish team kept pushing its way up the fleet, finally forcing team AkzoNobel away with an aggressive luff near the final top mark, setting the table for the pass of Vestas 11th Hour Racing on the final run.

Further back, Brunel and Scallywag engaged in a luffing match early on the first run. The Umpires penalised Scallywag for an infraction and following the penalty turn, David Witt’s team were trailing the fleet.

At the finish, a hard-charging Brunel nearly stole a place from Turn the Tide on Plastic. But Dee Caffari’s team, who had a very strong start to the race, held on for fifth place.

The boats depart for the start of leg three on Sunday 10 December at 14h00 local time to Melbourne via the Southern Ocean and via the roaring 40’s and raging 50’s .

Former Springbok flank André Venter presented the Springboks with their match jerseys on Friday morning at their team hotel in Cape Town.

photo credit -Gallo images /SA Rugby

Venter played in 66 Tests for the Springboks between 1996 and 2001 and was a member of the team that won the bronze medal at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in the United Kingdom.

He has been in a wheelchair in recent years after being struck down by a degenerative syndrome of the central nervous system called transverse myelitis. He is a successful businessman and also a motivational speaker.

Venter shared some inspirational words with the Springboks before he presented the match 23 with their playing jerseys for Saturday’s clash with New Zealand.

“I can see there is something special happening within this group,” said Venter to the current crop of Springboks, and urged the players to embrace the responsibility of wearing the Green and Gold.

“It is important to believe in what you’re doing and where you’re heading. The Springboks have an unbelievable history and you must be able to write your own chapter.”

Venter had the honour to present the Bok players with their jerseys on two previous occasions, and said he was extremely grateful and blessed to do so for a third time. The honour of playing for the team and your country is something that is not easy to describe, explained Venter.

“Only when you’re no longer playing and not part of that unique circle anymore, that is when it dawns on you how special the Springbok environment is. My advice to the players is to enjoy the experience and to make a telling contribution to the rich story of the Springboks,” said Venter.

Springbok captain Eben Etzebeth described Venter as probably the hardest man ever to play for the Springboks: “He epitomises everything you want in a great Springbok, so it was an unbelievable honour to receive our Test jerseys from Andre.”

The Springboks tackle New Zealand tomorrow in a 17h05 kick off at DHL Newlands, the two teams’ final fixture of the 2017 Castle Lager Rugby Championship.

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It’s OCTOBER MADNESS at Cape Town Comedy Club with limited R60 early bird tickets from Computicket all month (excludes special events).

A NIGHT OF HEADLINERS, on Friday 13 October 2017. FOUR top comedians perform on our stage for ONE night only! Martin Evans, Conrad Koch (Chester Missing), KG and Kurt Schoonraad as the MC. As usual, the line-up is subject to change. From October, we have the pleasure of introducing LIVE video mixing performed by SA Hip Hop DJ, DJ Azuhl! Tickets are R190 (includes a free Savanna for all and a video mix tape CD on arrival for the first 100 guests) and available from any Computicket outlet or Shoprite, Checkers stores.

pic Kurt Schoonraad

TRENDING COMICS IS COMING TO TOWN and social media will never be the same again! In its debut South African showing, Trending Comics will feature a stellar line up of our very own comic superheroes in Schalk Bezuidenhout, Robby Collins, Loyiso Madinga and Neil Green embarking on a nationwide tour that will touch down in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg at the end of October and beginning of November. As if that wasn’t enough firepower comedy in one ensemble, there will be different heavyweight comedians to host the shows in each city and we are excited to confirm them as the following; Kurt Schoonraad (Cape Town), Carvin Goldstone (Durban), and Donovan Goliath (Johannesburg). 20/21 October in Cape Town.

UK based comedian Mark Palmer will not be able to return to SA this year – new show dates will be announced.

PLAN AHEAD….. Join us for our unforgettable Silly Season Lunch Shows, with unmissable stand-up comedy acts and a mouth-watering 3-course meal. The perfect package to make planning your year-end lunch a breeze! Open to companies and individuals – 7, 8, 13, 14, 15 December 2017. Tickets are R450pp and includes VAT, service charge, entrance, 3-course meal and an hour show with 3 comedians. More info on our website.

The genesis of the story-line for Nigiri Law came about as a result of a very weird divorce case I was involved in with a client who couldn’t really speak much English. Many a time after seeing the client, I would think to myself “this is really funny stuff, well to me at least”.

One Saturday morning, while trying to relax with a bottle of prescription medication after a gruelling week of fighting the good fight against the forces of litigation evil on behalf of my numerous insane clients, I started playing around with the idea in my head of perhaps writing a stand-up comedy piece about the case.

I started banging away at the computer keyboard when the pills ran out, and it kind of took flight from there. I sent some of the initial work to a lawyer mate who seemed to enjoy it. It was then that I realised it was very much more a narrative piece than a stand-up comedy piece. It was meant to be a short story only. Never a short novel.

Almost every odd Saturday morning, I would wake up early and bang out a segment. It probably took me about just under a year to finish it.

The story is a massive send up of the fallibility of the human condition when it comes to romantic relationships, the imperfection of the legal system and the genuine insanity of the lawyers and judges who participate in it.

It’s a way out and irreverent story that is purely meant to entertain the reader in the genre of black comedy, crime story and courtroom drama.